February’s UFC 169 event has not one, but two headlining title contests as UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo meets top contender Ricardo Lamas and UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz makes his long-awaited return to the octagon for a unification bout with interim title holder Renan Barao.

Newsday first reported the bookings, and UFC officials have since confirmed the plans.

UFC 169 takes place Feb. 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The UFC’s annual Super Bowl weekend show typically is in Las Vegas, but this year heads to New Jersey, which hosts the NFL’s title game the next day at MetLife Stadium in nearby East Rutherford.

Lamas has won four consecutive bouts since moving from the WEC to the UFC. He had hoped a January victory over Erik Koch would earn him a title shot, but the UFC then booked him for a UFC 162 bout with Chan Sung Jung. However, Jung then replaced injured Anthony Pettis and lost to Aldo, and Lamas was left without an opponent and has been waiting on the sidelines since then.

Aldo, the only 145-pound champion in UFC history, is riding a 16-fight winning streak, which includes a perfect 5-0 mark in the octagon following his win over Jung.

Cruz (19-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who finished an eight-fight WEC run as the final bantamweight champion in that promotion’s history, has been on the sidelines the past two years due to a series of knee injuries. He was awarded the UFC bantamweight title in Dec. 2010 and has since defended the belt twice with wins over Demetrious Johnson and Urijah Faber. However, he hasn’t fought in more than two years, fighting most recently in 2011.

Meanwhile, Barao (31-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) boasts an incredible 31-fight winning streak. In July 2012, he picked up the UFC’s interim bantamweight title with a win over Urijah Faber. He’s since defended the belt twice with wins over Eddie Wineland and Michael McDonald.

From Our Partners

The Latest

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.